Towards artificial cells: electrofusion of lipid vesicles on-chip

Abstract

We present a microelectrode platform, integrated on a microfluidic chip, to study electrofusion of giant lipid vesicles with smaller vesicles, such as large liposomes made of synthetic lipids and vesicles derived from HEK293T cells. We monitored the fusion through lipid mixing, specifically the transfer of labeled lipids onto the giant vesicle membrane. The method described here represents a key step towards the creation of hybrid vesicles and is ultimately valuable for the bottom-up creation of artificial cells.